K. Natwar Singh’s erudition and literary style make the essays included in this book absorbing, lively provocative and entertaining reading. He writes with verve and zest, covering an astonishingly diverse range of topics. Here you have him playing host to Rajaji in New York, asking Han Suyin to order his breakfast, regaling heads of state with wit, greeting R.K. Narayan on the gravel path leading to his Mysore house, witnessing the functioning of four mighty ladies in a single day. Refreshing profiles of numerous personalities are provided, from Gandhiji to Churchill, Tagore to Nehru, Nirad C. Chaudhuri to Marquez to Paz, Rajiv Gandhi to Madhav Rao Scindia, Indira Gandhi to Mother Teresa, Forster to Zia-ul-Haq. This book belongs on every bedside table. It is an intellectual feast.